This is a very interesting piece from the Independent, Ireland. Apparently the country has seen a 79 per cent (!) increase in applications for organic conversion between last year and this.
Are they seeing a similar pattern to the one that happened in the UK in the last few years? Is this their big upswing, as we had over the course of recent years here?
Hopefully it’s not just a fad based on obtaining the available subsidies and there is a market for the converting produce that will come into the system in a year or so…
The market for organic food is still healthy and still growing, but the conversion period can distort the balance between supply and demand, leading to peaks and troughs in both availability and profitability. You always need to look closely at whatever forecasts are available for the market you intend to supply.
growth, Ireland, organic food
The Irish Times reports that organic producers and processors in Ireland are coming under pressure from multiple retailers for price cuts of up to 40 per cent.
This is a truly awful scenario and completely unsustainable. If there was 40 per cent or more margin to be made on organic production everyone would be piling in to do it! There’s money to be made, even in the current climate, but it’s at a more realistic level than that.
if you get it right, organic farming is a viable option, as long as everyone in the chain appreciates that the price of organic products reflects the true cost of food production.
The piece is based on information from our Irish counterparts, the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, and while it’s not stood up from any other sources, there is no reason to believe it’s not correct because IOFGA will have the same kind of relationship with its producers as we do, giving it access to the true picture on the ground.
Ireland, Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association, The
Irish Times
